The Return
by Nianti
Summary: What if the Answer wasn't the end of the story? What if there was a final chapter? MinatoxYukari if you look for it, JunpeixChidori in the last part of it. Currently complete, may pick it back up again later.


_A/N:_

_Thank you for picking up this story, and I hope you all enjoy. I won't put a big A/N so you can just read :)_

Disclaimer (although it should be obvious): I don't own P3, otherwise Shinjiro and Minato would still be alive.

* * *

"He... he won't wake up..."

"From what I can tell... he is... he is in a coma."

"WHAT! Aigis... surely there's something you can do...?"

"No. Th-there is nothing."

"Iori, call an ambulance."

"All right, Mitsuru-sempai."

"Mitsu... what're you planning on doing?"

"We, meaning you as well, Akihiko, are going to find a way to bring him back. He's our friend, and we are not going to give him up without a fight."

* * *

It had been eighteen months; eighteen long, agonizing months since then. They had gone through a second dungeon, a second boss. Aigis had found and lost her sister, Metis, and they had fought down Minato's shadow. Still, there was no way to bring him back. Yukari shook her head, fighting off the tears. "He'd want me to be strong..." she murmured. _'Minato... I miss you...'_

_I... Miss you... too... Yuka... chan..._

"?" Yukari's head snapped up. She had heard it, she had heard Minato's voice! It was clear as day.

"M...Minato?" She asked, hoping...

_I... I'm here... Yu...kari... I... I can't talk much longer... C-come to... Gekkokan... High, to... the observatory... Go... through the... door..._

"Minato! D-don't leave me!" Yukari cried, standing.

_Th-the door... Yu... ka...ri... I'm... always... with..._

The voice faded, and Yukari choked out a sob.

"M-Minato..." she paused, thinking.

_"Perhaps... that door he was talking about... wait. How do I... No, the shadows were destroyed."_

A resolution appeared in her mind, and Yukari nodded. She would find the observatory, and the door. Whatever was beyond, Yukari Takeba would be prepared for it. She picked up her evoker, and her best bow. Touching the smooth wood, she remembered how Minato had presented it to her as an early graduation present. Yukari smiled.

_"I'm coming, Minato. Wait for me just a little longer."_

* * *

Yukari approached the observatory with caution. She didn't know about any door into it, but she was willing to look, if only to find that she had been dreaming. She had found a velvet-colored key on her key chain as she left...

"I wonder if it goes to that door he was talking about..." she murmured, drawing closer to the tower.

_Yu...kari..._

"Minato? I can't see the door..."

_Side... of the... observatory... facing... the school..._

"Alright... I... I think I see it. It's the same color as the key I found."

_The key... it... opens... the door. I... I'm waiting... on the other side. Hurry... please... I don't... have long... to be... here._

"Right."

Yukari approached the door, and used the key to unlock it. The door swung open, and she stepped through into a strange room.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young lady."

Yukari jumped, turning her gaze to the center of the room. A strange, long-nosed man was sitting on a couch, smiling at her. He motioned for her to come forward.

"I am Igor. I helped your young friend during the battle up Tartarus. but, for now, that story can wait. Your friend has been waiting most patiently for you." Igor motioned to one of the shadowed corners. "Come forward, my dear boy. She seems most impatient, and, as you said, you do not have much time left before you must return to the tower."

Yukari looked to the shadows, and watched in disbelief as Minato Arisato stepped into the moonlight.

"Yukari... It's been a while..." He smiled. Yukari hesitated, and shook her head.

"This is almost too good to be true..." she sobbed, and hugged the boy she had never hoped to hold again. Minato chuckled, and wrapped her in his arms.

"Yes, but with one catch. In about another half-hour, I have to return to Tartarus... we don't have long to catch up. I know the generalities about what has happened over the past months, but nothing specific," he murmured, holding her tight.

The next fifteen minutes were spent catching up and filling in the previous two and a half years. Yukari felt like she would burst with happiness. Minato was almost exactly like she remembered him, with the exception of his strange exhaustion. Igor was a different entity all together, filling in wherever Yukari or Minato forgot something.

"I never realized... you used so many Personas, but I never understood how you got some of them. I understand now... but how are you here? You've been in a coma since the day after graduation." Yukari asked, her mind trying to work through the confusion.

"I... my mind and soul are trapped within Tartarus. That's also why I seem so tired... I can't leave except just before Midnight, and I have to return before the clock strikes one, else I die and Nyx is free." Minato lowered his gaze, sadness crowding out every other emotion in his eyes.

"Is there any way to free you?"

"None that I know of... I found a way out tonight, but I'm generally trapped on one of the floors, with no way up or down. I was lucky enough to find an access point this time."

"There is _one_ way... but it will require the entirety of the SEES society." Igor cut in; "If you can manage to place the seal in a Persona card, you could then discard that card and free yourself. However, you would still need to get to the main floor of the tower and get out before one o'clock."

"How do you know this?" Yukari asked, earning a sigh from Minato.

"I know because it is my place to know. Gather the others, and bring them here as soon as you can. I will locate the lost members, and have them here waiting for you. For now, though, Minato must return to the tower, and you, Miss Yukari, must return to your dorm before you get into trouble. Good night." Igor stood, and shooed Minato through a secondary door, and sent Yukari out the way she came in.

* * *

"...And you're sure that it wasn't a dream?"

Yukari sighed. Mitsuru was still doubtful of the story, though almost everyone else believed Yukari's story. Even Akihiko was willing to give it a shot.

"Yes, Sempai. I'm positive it wasn't a dream. Minato was real, the room was real, and I need your help if we're going to get him back." the younger girl sighed.

"If this were a dream, Yukari-san would not be able to describe everything, including Igor and the Velvet Room, with such perfect accuracy." Aigis offered, earning a stare from Mitsuru.

"I still don't understand how Tartarus still exists. It was destroyed when Arisato defeated Nyx." the Kirijo leader protested.

_It doesn't 'exist' in the physical sense. That is why I'm in a coma, instead of physically being locked away within it._

Mitsuru, Yukari, and Aigis turned, to see Minato standing before them. At least, he looked to be standing before them. His figure was hazy, translucent, like the shades of Greek myth.

"Arisato!"

"Minato-kun!"

"Leader-san!"

Yukari shook her head, wondering at what Minato had told them. Apparently, he had found a way to contact them in a way that Mitsuru would believe. Igor had found their 'missing members', and was waiting for the larger group's return in the Velvet Room.

"...And you're sure that this will work?" Akihiko was asking Minato. The navy-haired Persona-user nodded.

"Unless Igor's hidden something important, which he has no reason to do, we should be able to manage this with ease. I... should warn you. One of the allies he has found... they're not exactly what you would call to mind as a 'friend.' But... they helped me a lot when I was first starting out with you guys... Nngh?" Minato collapsed, and vanished.

"Minato-kun?"

"...the hell?"

_Guys... don't worry. As I am right now... I forgot I only has a short time to walk in the world of light before I collapsed. You need to hurry... it's almost midnight._

Yukari nodded, reassured, and took the lead. They reached the velvet-colored door, and entered Igor's realm.

* * *

"SHINJI?"

"Sempai!"

"Dude! you're alive!"

"Shinji-sempai!"

Shinjiro Aragaki was successively hugged, gawked at, and otherwise made uncomfortable.

"Yeah, s-so what? Castor told me that you guys needed me, so here I am. Minato's already been and gone. Tartarus re-shuffles itself every hour, so we need to hurry, and be careful. No splitting up or any madness like that." Shinji stuttered for a moment, then cleared his throat to emphasize his point.

"And you will need someone to make the staircases for you, and to summon access points. Therefore, I took the liberty of finding another, who some may recognize despite his childlike state." Igor cut in, giving his eerie smile. A boy stepped out of the shadows, one who looked like Minato, with indigo hair and light blue eyes. The boy's eyes had a chilling greenish ring near their centers, however, and his black-and-white-striped outfit only added to his strangeness.

"Pleased to meet you... or rather, to regain your acquaintances." The boy said, the first statement in a semi-normal, boyish voice, the second in the exact voice of Ryoji Mochizuki. "I am known as Pharos, but you may remember my other form, Ryoji. I aided Minato somewhat during you first battles through Tartarus, and I helped him unlock Thanatos' true power." Pharos bowed, smiling at the stunned people before him.

"Y...you're the one who became Nyx's avatar?" Ken asked, staring at the boy. Pharos saddened, and nodded.

"Yes... I was the one who embodied Death. However, thanks to Master Igor and Minato, I am free to do as I wish now, and side with whoever I choose. I believe in your cause, so I will come with you and aid you however I can. I can't summon a Persona, save the Reaper... and I do not think that I want him running loose, so I won't be any good in a fight. In this, my true form, I can't use any weapon save a dagger, and I don't want to get that close to an enemy." he chuckled softly. Yukari nodded, and turned to Igor.

"Can you tell us where Minato might be, right about now?" she asked. Igor sighed, and shook his head.

"No, I am unable to sense where your friend might be... however, you do not need me to find him. You already have a sensor or two... although you will all need your personas before you can enter this new tower." The persona-maker smiled, and summoned a thin pile of cards. He motioned for the entirety of SEES to gather around the table in the room's center, and dealt each person a card.

"These cards may be familiar to you, and it will only take a short time for you to unlock their true potential. I hope that they serve you well."

* * *

"So... if there's no entrance, why're we down here?" Junpei groaned. They had ended up on the main floor of Tartarus, with no stairway up. Pharos laughed.

"I... I've found him! Minato-san is on the 222nd floor!" Fuuka stuttered, drawing everyone's attention.

"Why so far up?" Aki murmured.

"Because that is where he ended up, and where he could pause and catch his breath. Let's go." Pharos chuckled, motioning towards the terminal. Yukari nodded, and the entire group gathered around the portal. Another moment, and they were in the 220th floor of Adamah, the final block of Tartarus. Pharos led the way to where the stairs should've been (avoiding the battles as much as he could, of course).

"They really think that they can hold him here?" the boy chuckled, shaking his head. He summoned what looked like a gold filament, and placed it at the center of the room. The golden thread lengthened, stretched, and folded itself into a set of stairs leading upward. Yukari took the lead then, following Fuuka's words and suggestions. The group made its way through the next floor, Pharos helping where he had to and Fuuka scanning every enemy they encountered. When they reached the next large room, Pharos again summoned a staircase.

"We should be very careful on this next floor... there will be many enemies who do not want to relinquish their prey." The boy warned. Yukari nodded. The group had split into two different teams, Aigis leading one and Yukari the other. They had reunited when the stairways opened and whenever there was a powerful enemy, but otherwise they stayed clear of one another.

"Aigis? Let's regroup here at the stairs... I've got a feeling that we'll need to stick together on the next floor." the archer shivered, trying to keep her fear at bay.

"Understood... Minato-san is on the next floor, correct?"

"Yes."

"Very well... I will bring my team back. Please do not ascend without us." the android requested.

* * *

"Ack!"

Minato barely dodged the Shadow's attack, and retreated to the highest ground he could find. The Shadow stopped its attacks once he was above it, and turned to leave through a corridor. Minato slumped against the wall, exhausted. He had been fighting for what felt like years, and the random shuffling of the tower always left him dazed. Often, Minato found himself dropped into an infestation of Shadows, and he could barely escape one before running into another. He was tired... tired of fighting, of running, of being tired. He smiled at the last paradox, until another sound drew his attention.

_"Someone... calling me? It... sounds human..."_

_**"Don't trust what you can't see, boy,"**_ Thanatos advised.

_**"Shadow have untold numbers of tricks to find their prey,"**_ Orpheus added.

Minato shook his head, and tried to gain back as much strength as he could before he had to move again. He'd found that the less he tried to avoid the shadows, the more he could reach lower levels in the tower, and the more he could regain his strength.

"Minato! Where are you?"

Minato once again turned his head to the location of the voice. This time, it had sounded exactly like Yukari... but how could she have made it this far without exhausting herself? He shook his head again, and allowed himself to rest against the wall, knowing he'd have a bunch of Shadows to deal with when he woke up.

* * *

"Aki! Takeba! Mochizuki! I think I found him!" Shinji called. Yukari turned, to see the elder member motioning for them to hurry. She rushed over to where he stood, followed by Pharos and Akihiko.

"There... down the corridor and up the short staircase... see him? Collapsed in the corner?" Shinji muttered, loud enough for them to hear, but quietly enough so that the now-nearby Shadow wouldn't take a sudden interest.

"Yes... I see him! Let's go, before something bad happens!" Yukari answered, with Pharos grinning at her elbow. Aigis approached behind her, and nodded in agreement. Everyone prepared for battle, and headed down the corridor towards the sleeping teenager.

"D'you think he'll be able to wake up after we get him outta here?" Junpei asked.

"Perhaps... But we need to hurry. Our hour is almost up, and if we're trapped here when the tower reshuffles..." Pharos shuddered; "Well... I don't know what will happen, but I'm sure we won't be able to get him out after... not without killing him." The boy shook his head.

"Then let us stop delaying and get him out of here." Aigis said, and rushed ahead of the group. Yukari yelped, and took off after her.

"Aigis! We can't afford to be caught by a Shadow right now! None of us are prepared to take on the Shadows at this level alone!" Yukari said, catching the android by her arm. Aigis looked at her a moment, and sighed.

"Understood... and he seems to be out of danger for the moment..." Aigis murmured, waiting for the others. Once the group was collected again, they hurried over to Minato.

* * *

Minato came awake with a sudden jolt as he felt someone about to touch him. As a force of habit, his hand instantly grabbed his sword, but he relaxed when he saw Yukari and the others standing before him.

"G...Guys? When did you get here..?" He mumbled, as Shinji dragged him to his feet.

"No time for chatting now, Arisato. Let's go!" Shinji directed the last comment towards Pharos. The boy grinned, and summoned an access point with a snap of his fingers. With Shinji supporting him, Minato followed the others through the access point and into the Velvet Room. Igor grinned as they entered.

"Good, good, now what you must do is summon the seal and cast it and the card back into Tartarus." Igor handed Minato a card, one with the picture of Nyx's avatar carefully placed upon it. Minato nodded, and, with as much haste as he could afford, willed the seal into the card. With another motion, he flicked the card into Tartarus just as the clock struck one. The door snapped shut, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

...At least, until Minato vanished.

"What the?" Yukari squeaked, echoed by almost everyone.

"Ah... yes... I nearly forgot. You must take your friend's soul-card back to his body, before the next hour strikes. That is the only way to restore him... so sorry that I forgot to mention that." Igor sighed, his voice surrendering not even a hint of apology. Yukari sighed, and picked up the card laying where Minato had been a few moments before. As she stood, Igor turned to Shinjiro.

"As for you, young Aragaki... you will be able to return to the dorm with them. I will set about altering things so that only you and your friends will remember what truly happened. To all others, you will have merely been a coma this past while. Understood?"

Shinjiro choked, realizing what that statement meant.

"I... I can go back to my life? I... Yes. I understand. Thank you, Igor-san." he seemed to choke on the last syllable, but bowed in respect nonetheless. Igor laughed.

"Now, you don't need to go that far... you must get going, before your time runs out."

With that, he shooed the group out.

* * *

Minato wasn't sure what happened, only that his next feeling was of someone's hand resting over his heart. He shifted, then stiffened as his body cramped in multiple places at once.

"Minato-kun! You... you're awake..." Yukari's voice cut through the pain momentarily, "... I... you probably shouldn't be moving that much yet... you've been asleep for a long time, physically speaking."

Minato waited for the pain to subside, and cracked his eyes open. Squinting from the harsh light, he saw five of his friends gathered in his hospital room, some holding their breath, while others seemed to be content with sitting or leaning against the wall and waiting.

"H...how long...?" he managed to rasp. Yukari immediately helped him to sit up, and brought a cup of water to his lips.

"Since you were physically awake, or since the foray into the tower?" Pharos asked, moving to perch on the side of Minato's bed.

"You've been physically out since graduation two years ago... but it's been about two weeks since we got you out of Tartarus." Yukari smiled. Minato coughed, and looked over at the clock, then the window. It was dark outside, but the clock said it was one-thirty...

"... it's morning?" Minato whispered, then coughed again. Yukari smiled.

"Yeah... the others... except for Pharos of course... they've been staying in shifts... Even Shinjiro-sempai stayed for a few hours. Igor-san gave him his life back, and fixed it so that only we would remember what really happened. Everyone else thinks he was just in a coma from an accident." she answered. Chidori looked up, and nudged Junpei, who started.

"I'm up... Oh! Minato! Glad to see you awake!" the goofball grinned. Minato smiled slightly, warmed by his friends' care.

"Th...thank you..." he murmured. Yukari moved her hand to grasp his before she stood.

"We were only allowed to stay until you woke up... I guess I'd better get the nurse," Pharos said, and went to do so as the others stood.

"We will be back to-... well... I suppose it will be this afternoon." Chidori added, taking Junpei's hand as he stood. Minato nodded, and smiled as he lay back. A nurse came in, and he saw Yukari mouthing S_ee you then_ behind the woman's back. He nodded.

* * *

It took a few months, but Minato was eventually able to get through a day without any outside support; once he accomplished that, he was permitted to return to his home. Yukari was the one who picked him up from the hospital, and he found himself at the center of a Welcome Back party once they reached the dorm. Mitsuru had arranged for a new dorm to be built, once specifically for the members of SEES; all of the members had a second home there, and it was built within easy walking distance from the workplaces of those who had jobs. Aki and Shinjiro both aided Mitsuru in running her company, and they sparred whenever they had the time; Shinjiro quickly dragged Minato into the sparring contests once the younger boy was able. Junpei of all people helped him get a job as an intern at the local psychiatric ward, and Chidori helped him work his way up. Aigis worked with younger children there, mostly those who had open minds, while Ken was working his way through Gekkokan highschool. Koromaru was, of course, sticking close to Fuuka, who worked in the local library and spent her spare time helping Shinji or Ken.

All in all, Minato Arisato's life was better than he ever counted on it being.

* * *

_A/N: Well? How was it? I can has review, plz?_


End file.
